North Korea mourns dead Kim Jong-il as UK hopes for ‘turning point’

The death of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il has sparked a mass outpouring of grief in the country, with thousands of people weeping uncontrollably on the streets of the capital Pyongyang.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il died from a heart attack on Saturday, state media reported (Pic: Reuters)

The 69-year-old died of a heart attack while travelling on a train on Saturday, which state media reported was caused by a ‘great mental and physical strain’ during a ‘high intensity field inspectionâ.

A wave of grief has spread across the communist nation today, with television footage showing locals breaking down in tears and throwing themselves onto the ground in response to the news.

Across the world, the news of Kim Jong-ilâs death has been met with wary optimism, with some diplomats cautiously seeing the succession of his son Kim Jong-un as an opportunity for a new diplomatic start.

Pyongyang residents struggle to deal with the news of Kim Jong-il’s death (Pic: Reuters)

US president Barack Obama and South Korean president Lee Myung-bak have reportedly agreed to monitor events closely.

Foreign secretary William Hague has also said the passing of Kim Jong-il could be a âturning pointâ for North Korea.

âWe hope that their new leadership will recognise that engagement with the international community offers the best prospect of improving the lives of ordinary North Korean people,’ he said on Monday.

âWe encourage North Korea to work for peace and security in the region and take the steps necessary to allow the resumption of the six-party talks on de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.â

North Korea has gone into mourning following the confirmation of Kim Jong-il’s death (Pic: AP)

Elsewhere, Australiaâs foreign minister Kevin Rudd said: âIt is critical that everybody exercises appropriate calm and restraint in what is an important development in terms of the overall stability of the region and the security of us all.

âThis presents an opportunity for the North Korean regime, the new leadership of the new regime, to engage fully with the international community on the critical questions of how to feed their people, how to open their economy and, more broadly, how to deal with the long-standing problem of North Korea’s nuclear weapons.â

Kim Jong-un has already been described by state media as a âgreat successorâ and a bulletin confirmed the people and the military would âupload the leadership of Kim Jong-unâ.

‘At the leadership of comrade Kim Jong -un, we have to change sadness to strength and courage and overcome today’s difficulties,’ the statement declared.

Kim Jong-il named his third son as his successor back in September 2010, two years after he apparently suffered a stroke and withdrew even further from the public spotlight.